Cao Yun was still hovering above Lan Duoyan. Honestly, he wasn't entirely sure what he had done was the right move. Everything would depend on how those demons would react. Lan Duoyan had the means to survive now. However, if he lost himself in his rage, he could turn into a rabid beasts. Although he was no threat to the Empyrean Asura Theocracy, Lan Duoyan could very well kill many demons who were either weak cultivators or mere mortals. Cao Yun didn't wish for such a thing to happen. At the same time, he could understand Lan Duoyan's resentment toward those who had denounced him and his closed ones to the theocracy.
That being said, Cao Yun had seen a bit of himself in the young man. Somehow, he had the intuition that this boy was worthy of his attention and help. Anyway, if he really went down the wrong path, Lan Duoyan would probably get killed by the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. But if he didn't let his anger get the best of him, he could climb high. Maybe he would even become an interesting partner for the Hongchen Kingdom in a few decades. Deep down, Cao Yun wondered whether he had chosen this boy with ulterior motives in mind. At first, he would reject the idea. But maybe there was some truth to it...
For a few hours, Cao Yun observed the group. He was extremely happy to see Lan Duoyan take care of everyone else. The young man was very diligent in his newfound cultivation. But he didn't disregard the other victims around him. Obviously, the girls were more comfortable around him than they would have ever been around a stranger. Once Cao Yun was satisfied that everything seemed to be going well, he decided to set up an array formation around the entire area. For months to come, it would hide the presence of those demons. Besides, the demonic beasts around here weren't too powerful. Unlike in the Divine Blood Ocean, the beasts were frequently culled.
Now that his mind was at ease about those he had just saved, Cao Yun knew where he wanted to go. In the memories of Mei Qingluan he had identified where their military settlement was. Their chief was Si Hongdi, a 1st-grade Accomplished Demon. She was a six to seven hundred years-old woman. From what Cao Yun had seen, she wasn't like those subordinates. Her forces were very well disciplined and they would have never partaken in such horrendous acts.
There was no doubt that they followed the orders of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. Obviously, they would have killed and burned any heretic they would have found. But Si Hongdi would have never allowed her troops to abuse and torture them beforehand. Besides, she always tried to solve things peacefully. After all, they were already waging a difficult battle against the Hongchen Kingdom, they didn't need more problems back home. Antagonizing their own population wasn't such a good idea.
On the other hand, the Empyrean Asura Theocracy was pushing for more oppression of all those they deemed heretics in order to silence any dissension. Indeed, their war was much longer than they had imagined. But they couldn't stop it now that it had started without losing face. This wasn't something they could accept as it would undermine the faith in Demon God Da Mo as well. Unfortunately, it meant that more level-headed commanders like Si Hongdi were asked to perform duties they would find otherwise repulsive. Killing mere mortals wasn't what Si Hongdi had imagined she would be doing when the war started. Nonetheless, she demanded absolute disciple and self-control from her forces.
In Cao Yun's mind though, there was not that much difference between Si Hongdi and this terrible group he had slaughtered. If anything else, they were just more honest about the nature of their mission while Si Hongdi despised it but still performed it. Despite her pretenses, she had burned alive hundreds of people under the orders of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. Honestly, he could understand being in a bad position. After all, he had been forced to compromise when he was in the Desolate Sepulcher. But there was a limit to how much one could compromise before being corrupted. Sometimes this was a fine line to walk. In Si Hongdi's case, things were much clearer.
She could lie to herself, but Cao Yun had no doubt about what she deserved. Unlike those she tormented, she had the strength to make other choices and she had not. Thus, he had no problem killing her to get more information. But he wouldn't be as brutal as he had been with this group.
-
Cao Yun flew around the area. He even saw the village where Lan Duoyan had lived. Seeing people live their life peacefully while their own neighbors had been tortured to death because of them left a sour taste in Cao Yun's mouth. But not everyone was guilty. There were even children playing in the village. Cao Yun was tired of complex situations. As much as he wanted the world around him to be black and white, it seemed as though it was rarely the case. Thus, he focused on the issues that were more obvious. Among those mortals, some were absolutely guilty by their actions while others had probably stayed silent out of fear. However, the soldiers who had attacked had enjoyed it tremendously.
Finally, Cao Yun reached the military settlement where Mei Qingluan had gotten her orders. With absolute stealth, Cao Yun and Hongyu flew above it several times. The young man observed everything and everyone until he was satisfied with it. There were a few array formations around the camp but nothing he couldn't deal with easily. In fact, he quickly turned their array formations against them.
After identifying the tents where Si Hongdi was, Cao Yun observed the movement of the guards and the troops stationed there. In total, there were around three hundred soldiers. Even with his current strength, fighting such forces would be tough. He could probably win, especially considering the fact he could fly. But he could also get wounded. Everything would depend on how well their battle formations were coordinated. In such a situation, it was always a good idea to kill the commanders and the strategists first. Fighting many Golden Blood Children and Blood Children without coordination was much easier. Besides, he could use the array formations to his advantage.
Everyone beneath Cao Yun was a soldier. As such, he didn't feel bad about attacking them and even killing them. Of course, some might have circumstances that had compelled or even forced them to join the army. But they had made a conscious decision. Tomorrow they could be sent to ravage another small village, or they could be sent against the Hongchen Kingdom. Weakening the Empyrean Asura Theocracy's army and leaders by any means was fair game to Cao Yun. When civilians were concerned, things became much more complex and he didn't like that. Once again, Cao Yun realized that he wasn't cut out to be a leader.
Observing the situation, Cao Yun could almost determine how their various battle formations worked. He spent almost two days studying his enemies. And now, he could tell which demons were working together in the same battle formations, which ones were essential for the cohesion of their groups and where to strike them efficiently. Intelligence was paramount in war and so was it in battle. The fight would be decided before it even began. In his mind, Cao Yun had devised many ways for him to eradicate this entire military camp. This wasn't exactly his end goal, but it might turn out to be necessary.
First of all, Cao Yun had to get the information he needed from their commander, General Si Hongdi. Since most of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy's forces were on the front lines, their generals within their own lands were all early Accomplished Demons. In other words, there were few people who could really oppose Cao Yun at the moment. The demons had struck the Hongchen Kingdom from within by sending spies who could pass off as humans. Now, Cao Yun would do the exact same thing.
Without releasing his stealth, Cao Yun descended into the camp and made his way into the General's tent. On the other hand, Hongyu stayed in the airs above the soldiers, ready to strike as well.
General Si Hongdi was examining a map of the region. There were two advisors by her side. One of them was a very old man whose cultivation was at the peak of the Golden Blood Child realm, but his vitality was extremely low. He would never achieve any breakthrough. In fact, he would probably die in less than two decades. The other one was a middle-aged woman who was a middle Golden Blood Child. While the old man seemed to be close to Si Hongdi, the middle-aged woman stood a bit farther from the both of them. She also had an important air to her as though even General Si Hongdi was beneath her.
Cao Yun had observed them for two days now so he knew who she was. That middle-aged woman was a priestess of the Empyrean Asura Theocracy. Since their current mission was to maintain peace and order within the empire and to also chase heretics, this Yao Baiyi had almost as much authority as General Si Hongdi, if not more. When it came to slaughtering heretics, Yao Baiyi clearly gave the orders. But General Si Hongdi had the final say on how to fight and organize her troops. In other words, Yao Baiyi gave the objectives and General Si Hongdi would choose the means to achieve them.
As Cao Yun was entering the tent, the three of them were in the midst of an argument.
"General, I'll have you remember your place! Those villages must be purged!"
"With all due respect to your holiness, we have no evidence that they hid any rebels or heretics. However, there has been unrest in the West. Campaigning against heretics right now would only increase the tensions between the population and our army. We don't have the strength to battle on too many fronts."
"General! You forget yourself... Demon God Da Mo watches over us, you shouldn't be afraid of those pathetic half-breeds. Instead, you should fear for your own Blood. When our god rises, he will cleanse this world with the blood of the weak. You don't want to be on the wrong side of this, General. Even if we make mistakes, this is inconsequential. Those who are killed by mistake will be rewarded as their Blood will serve the greater good of Demon God Da Mo. And you shouldn't be afraid of unrest either. Humans won't be a threat much longer."
"This is what Empyrean Asura promised us nine years ago already. And yet, the war still rages."
"General...!"
The old man coughed a little.
"Priestess, what General Si Hongdi is trying to express is that our enemies are too cunning. We have to be smart to get rid of them all. We all serve the great Demon God. General Si Hongdi's words might not be pleasant, but the reality of the situation compels us to be pragmatic first. The heretics can be dealt with in due time. But if we leave rebellions fester, we might face a harsher situation which might delay the plans of the Empyrean Asura even further."
The priestess was about to answer when complete silence fell on the tent. Suddenly, the three of them were unable to move. They couldn't even breathe as their muscles were completely paralyzed. Outside though, nothing was amiss. As they were arguing, they had made sure that no one could hear them. Besides, they felt safe and had no reason to suspect such an attack.
General Si Hongdi immediately tried to circulate her blood but it almost froze in her veins. She was absolutely powerless in front of her enemy. In her eyes it was obvious that she had understood the situation. She had already lost but the fight had not even begun, and it never would. On the other hand, the old man and the priestess were much more panicked. But they couldn't express it either.
Just to be safe, Cao Yun didn't even reveal himself. He stayed completely hidden with his 'Ashen Feather Seal'. His spiritual senses were all around the three demons as he had used the most advanced form of 'Weeping Demon'. With his almost six Turbid Demons, it was much stronger than before. Mixing it with his killing intent, even General Si Hongdi would find it hard to break free of it in a short amount of time. On the battlefield, she might have been able to somewhat resist it with her own killing intent in the heat of the moment. But in such a sneak attack while she was focused on something else, she was powerless to defend herself.
Then, Cao Yun entered the seas of consciousness of the old man and priestess Yao Baiyi first. Since the old man was the weakest of the trio, he tried to use a softer form of Soul Memory Search. Cao Yun didn't want to have to break someone's soul each time he wanted information so he was training other means. Right now, he was trying to do just as Xiao Xuefeng. Unfortunately, it failed. As Cao Yun was sifting through the memories of the old man, he broke a part of his mind that then damaged his very soul. It was nothing that would kill the old man but it would affect his mind of course. Maybe it was because that man was already close to death.
Anyway, Cao Yun did get what he wanted from him but he would need to work on his technique. If he could read anyone's memories without risking their life or their mental health, it would be a great thing. Even Xiao Xuefeng wasn't absolutely confident about this.
Sadly, the old man didn't have anything very important to offer Cao Yun. Hopefully, the priestess and General Si Hongdi would be much more useful. And Cao Yun began with the priestess. From what he had seen, she didn't deserve any mercy but he still tried to read her memories without damaging her mind as he was training.